Evolution… and Climate Change

Via Unreasonable Faith

Anti-evolutionists and climate change deniers often go hand in hand. Now there’s a bill in Kentucky that wants to “the advantages and disadvantages of scientific theories” about “evolution, the origins of life, global warming, and human cloning.”

Critics of the teaching of evolution in the nation’s classrooms are gaining ground in some states by linking the issue to global warming, arguing that dissenting views on both scientific subjects should be taught in public schools. [...]

The bill, which has yet to be voted on, is patterned on even more aggressive efforts in other states to fuse such issues. In Louisiana, a law passed in 2008 says the state board of education may assist teachers in promoting “critical thinking” on all of those subjects. [...]

The linkage of evolution and global warming is partly a legal strategy: courts have found that singling out evolution for criticism in public schools is a violation of the separation of church and state. By insisting that global warming also be debated, deniers of evolution can argue that they are simply championing academic freedom in general.

I’m all for teaching competing scientific theories and comparing them. I don’t think creationism qualifies as a scientific theory — but maybe teachers should talk about creationism and why it’s not science, just like all the other creation myths.

Debunking religious nonsense shouldn’t really be part of a science class, but it seems at least with creationism, there are enough adherents to make it worth debunking in the classroom, just like if there were a minority of students who held to a flat earth.